Dean Lombardi and company at Team USA headquarters overthought this one.
Phil Kessel was a surprising omission from the United States' World Cup of Hockey team when the full squad was announced Friday, and the decision is no less curious 48 hours later. In fact, it's only becoming more difficult to justify, especially when you look at the numbers.
While Kessel saw a drop in production in his first season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he still managed to score 25 goals, a number most forwards would kill for. More importantly, he's lighting it up in the playoffs. He has nine goals and nine assists in 18 games as the Penguins prepare to play for the Stanley Cup. He now has 22 goals in 40 career playoff games, all the more impressive considering the Toronto Maple Leafs wasted his prime. He rises to the occasion when the competition is the stiffest, which will be the case in the fall at the World Cup.
It's as simple as this: Only one American-born player has more points than Kessel since 2010, and only one American-born player has scored more goals than Kessel since 2010.
Goals since 2010
| Rank | Player | Goals | GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Pavelski | 183 | 450 |
| 2 | Kessel | 177 | 458 |
| 3 | Patrick Kane | 175 | 414 |
| 4 | Max Pacioretty | 168 | 395 |
| 5 | Bobby Ryan | 139 | 439 |
| 6 | Zach Parise | 139 | 354 |
| 7 | David Backes | 135 | 445 |
| 8 | Blake Wheeler | 134 | 452 |
| 9 | Ryan Kesler | 133 | 413 |
| 10 | James van Riemsdyk | 121 | 368 |
| 11 | Ryan Callahan | 119 | 396 |
| 16 | T.J. Oshie | 104 | 390 |
| 25 | Brandon Dubinsky | 82 | 381 |
| 28 | Justin Abdelkader | 77 | 426 |
Points since 2010
| Rank | Player | Points | GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kane | 433 | 414 |
| 2 | Kessel | 398 | 458 |
| 3 | Pavelski | 385 | 450 |
| 4 | Wheeler | 357 | 452 |
| 5 | Pacioretty | 319 | 395 |
| 6 | Ryan | 316 | 439 |
| 7 | Derek Stepan | 305 | 434 |
| 8 | Backes | 304 | 445 |
| 9 | Dustin Byfuglien | 288 | 418 |
| 10 | Parise | 284 | 354 |
| 15 | Callahan | 251 | 396 |
| 19 | Dubinsky | 242 | 381 |
| 38 | Abdelkader | 168 | 426 |
Canada proved at the Sochi Olympics that even in a short tournament, the most talented team is going to win. For the Americans to win the World Cup, they need the Kessels of the world on the ice, not - with all due respect - the Callahans, Dubinskys, and Abdelkaders.
"It is what it is," Kessel said Sunday of his World Cup snub. It was the diplomatic answer. The truth is, it's a foolish decision, and the Americans will regret it.
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